Organisers of this weekend’s Mil Lel Show have made the heartbreaking decision to cancel the event in a move they have described as “devastating”.

The announcement of COVID-19 restrictions on Monday afternoon prompted the Mil Lel Agriculture and Horticultural Society to abandon their plans for this Saturday – for the second consecutive year.

Society treasurer Liza Kirby was understandably disappointed with the decision, but felt there were no other options.

“We have always had it in the back of our minds that this might happen but for it to actually occur is heartbreaking,” she said.

“The silver lining to the COVID cloud is that it did not happen this Friday, the day before the event.

“We would like to thank our volunteers who put in lots of time, the sponsors who supported us, the exhibitors and siteholders.”

Organisers have paid the price of the new restrictions put in place as of 4pm Monday, costing the committee more than just money.

“We have already purchased six hundred showbags, soft drink, donuts and other non-refundable items,” Mrs Kirby said.

“There was a lot of time put into the show and as a committee we have put in countless hours and taken holidays to prepare for the event.

“Our volunteers put in an enormous amount of time preparing the showgrounds and getting ready for the show.

“We give as much money back to the community as we can.

“This will affect our ability to build up these funds again which means that potentially we will not be able to give as much to the community.”

Mrs Kirby said being able to bring the Mil Lel show back to its former glory after cancelling for two years was a concern.

“It is difficult to get volunteers and committee members to want to put on an event three years on, but we will definitely try to put on a show next year,” she said.

Meanwhile, Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations plans are being reviewed to see what impact the new restrictions will have.

Coonawarra Vignerons executive officer Ockert le Roux said discussions were ongoing about the progress of events.

“The upside to the announcement by the SA Government is that we are not in a total lockdown,” he said.

“The level three restrictions will still allow us to host most of our smaller seated events on the events program.

“Most of our week two events are tasting events which can still be hosted at the cellar door.

“Currently one of our larger events for week two Rymill’s Cabernet Carnival is in question.

“After speaking to a Rymill representative on Tuesday, they will most likely postpone this event until the first week of December.”

Mr le Roux said it was “still too early” to comment about the remainder of the Cabernet Celebrations month.

“Let’s hope contact tracers could confirm exposure sites within the next 24 hours to provide clearer guidance,” he said.

“We will make updates to our www.coonawarra.org events page to keep the public informed on possible program changes.”

Sadly, the return of the Mount Gambier Library Market scheduled for Sunday has been postponed due to the restrictions.

Event organiser Lakes Rotary Club’s publicity officer Darren Archibald said it was a difficult decision.

“The amount of work that our market coo rdinator Trevor has put in, as well as the preparation our stallholders have being doing, makes the decision to cancel very tough,” he said.

“We had been looking forward to the market starting up again after a limited run last season but the health and wellbeing for all involved has to come first.

“Had the decision not been made and we ended up with an explosion of cases we may have ended up in a situation where the market may have not proceeded for an extended period of time.

“Hopefully, for us, it just means we miss out on the one market.”

The COVID restrictions have prompted Wattle Range Council to cancel all its scheduled activities for seniors and children for the time being.

The clampdown is in place at least until Monday.

The council had a program of daily activities in place to mark Seniors Month and it may be possible to reschedule some of them for later in October.

The school holiday program for youngsters has also been suspended due to the restrictions with school resuming on Monday.